Moonbug Entertainment and Universal Music Group have announced an exclusive global partnership.
Under the terms of the agreement, UMG will provide worldwide distribution, publishing and licensing for the Moonbug Music label and its hugely popular kids and family music catalogues, including CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi, which currently generate more than 150 million monthly streams across Moonbug brands.
The multi-year partnership will see the companies work closely together to reach new audiences globally, explore new opportunities to improve the accessibility of kids’ music for parents as well as infants, toddlers and other key learning phases through optimisation of voice-activated technology and in-home devices, playlisting and other innovations.
UMG will also work closely with Moonbug to maximise the impact of its catalogue through sync and licensing for its hugely popular IP, through Universal Music Publishing (UMPG) worldwide.
Over the past three years, the award-winning global entertainment company behind some of the world’s most popular kids’ titles has built a global family audience through its hugely popular shows, as well as the educational and behavioural-themed songs.
Moonbug currently has two of the Top 20 most-watched YouTube videos in history. Its Bath Song from CoComelon has been viewed more than 4.4 billion times.
With this exclusive agreement, UMG will leverage its expertise in publishing, distribution and its global network of 300-plus partners and DSPs to bring Moonbug’s library of audio entertainment to families all over the world, supported by UMG’s operations worldwide.
Kids' music consumption has increased dramatically across streaming services in the past two years, particularly in the early childhood phases (1-5 years old). The rapid adoption of voice-enabled devices globally in the home has meant that children are engaging with music at a younger age than ever before. As families spent more time in the home due to the pandemic, new behaviours were established, with children increasingly able to access music utilising in-home technology via premium streaming subscription services.
“We could not be more thrilled to partner with a respected and influential industry powerhouse like Universal Music Group to expand the possibilities of our music content,” said René Rechtman, co-founder and CEO of Moonbug Entertainment. “Music plays a critical role not only in our company’s growth strategy but also in childhood development. We look forward to the possibilities for our already popular nursery rhymes and songs, and the new music that we’ll produce together.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with Moonbug Entertainment, reinforcing UMG’s position as the leading distributor and publisher of kids music globally. We have seen tremendous growth in the kids and family segment in recent years, thanks to advances in streaming and voice-technology. We look forward to working with Rene and the talented Moonbug team to amplify the reach of their catalog to families around the world, and to further improve the accessibility of music for children of all ages.”
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